Providing humanity with sufficient nutritious food is a Herculean task that can only be achieved through a joint effort. Our initiatives seek to make a positive contribution toward meeting that challenge.

Bayer ForwardFarming

Bayer ForwardFarming

ForwardFarming: Demonstrating Sustainable Agriculture in Practice

Bayer ForwardFarming is a knowledge platform that demonstrates sustainable agriculture in practice.

In partnership with independent farmers, the initiative creates opportunities for demonstration, dialogue and collaboration on farms around the world. Tailored solutions, proactive stewardship measures, and partnerships are implemented to show how modern agriculture can go hand in hand with environmental and social responsibility.

What is a Bayer ForwardFarm?

ForwardFarms are independent farms that are representative of the region in which they are located. The farmers proactively seek improvements in sustainable agriculture practices. The farms serve as a hub for exchange of ideas and insights that can be implemented locally, and globally.

These farms benefit from partnerships with both the public and private sector to support their business, produce high-quality food, feed, and renewable raw materials, while at the same time preserving farmland and natural resources such as water, soil and biodiversity.

Explore the Bayer ForwardFarming network below to learn more!

Three Basic Components

Sustainable Agriculture In Practice

Tailored Solutions

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to sustainable farming. Together with independent farmers, Bayer ForwardFarming demonstrates the importance of seeds and traits, crop protection, digital tools and related services to increase yield by making the best use of all resources, while preserving the environment.

Seeds & Traits

Selection of high-quality, certified seeds is essential for a good yield. Treatments help protect seeds against diseases and pests. SeedGrowth™ is an example of an integrated system – providing products, coatings, equipment and services – that encourages optimal seed development through on-seed applications. Learn more here.

Crop Protection Products

Chemical and biological crop protection products combine to protect against weeds, pests and diseases. Decision support tools as mentioned above help to optimize the timing of applications and help apply only as much as is truly needed.

Digital Tools & Services

From advanced weather monitoring to satellite remote sensing, digital technology enables farmers to take advantage of the data at their fingertips.

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Proactive Stewardship

ForwardFarming promotes and demonstrates proactive stewardship to protect human health and preserve the environment. Examples include addressing the safe and responsible use of crop protection products, preserving soil, biodiversity and water, as well as offering training in all of these areas.

Safe Use of Crop Protection Products

Ensuring the responsible handling and application of products is an essential part of farming safety. ForwardFarming serves as a demonstration and knowledge exchange platform for farmers and other stakeholders to share, learn and adopt best practices to keep themselves safe and continue to produce healthy food.

For farmer support, Bayer provides an online tool called BAYER DRESSCODE with information about personal protection. Bayer has also developed a new closed system device called easyFlow®. This device allows operators to measure and translocate crop protection products without being exposed to them.

Enhancement of Natural Habitat

On each farm, coexistence with the natural surroundings is important not only for the environment, but for the health of the crops. Depending on the local habitat and species, farms implement diverse features including:

Mixed plant hedges act as a windshield for fruit crops and help prevent spray drift.

Flowering strips and mixed hedges ensure that bees, wild pollinators and other beneficial insects have food and shelter throughout the year when active.

Nesting boxes are provided for small birds and resting places for predatory birds.

Open plots allow skylarks to land and build their nests in the surrounding fields.

Water Protection and Conservation

Water is one of our most valuable resources. Regardless of the activity, using and preserving water in a responsible manner is in the farmer’s and the environment’s best interest.

One example is the Phytobac™ system used on Bayer ForwardFarms to ensure safe disposal and cleaning of wastewater. Residue water collected from a designated cleaning area is distributed slowly over a basin filled with a soil and straw mixture. Microorganisms in the soil remove chemical residue, and the clean water evaporates. Learn more about this technology here.

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Partnerships

Bayer ForwardFarming partners with food and value chain participants, research centers and universities, and industry leaders to create space for dialogue and demonstration – connecting farmers with the communities around them and beyond.

Just a few examples of partnerships established by current ForwardFarms include:

AGRO-FARM GmbH Nauen
Using nature to bring back water to its most natural state is an efficient, and sustainable stewardship practice. Phytobac®, pictured here, is a biological system for the disposal, and cleaning, of waste water.

Operator Safety

Water Protection

Water used to clean
application equipment is collected and crop protection residues are broken down naturally to avoid
runoff into the environment. Learn more about the micro-organisms at work in the Phtobac® system here.

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Bee Hotel and Supporting
Biodiversity

The installation of bee hotels
and planting of flower strips improve the habitat for feeding and proliferation of pollinators and
other beneficial organisms.

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Training

Education and training are
fundamental in any profession. “I Apply Responsibly” is a training program that focuses on the
importance of appropriate use of crop protection products.

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Cooperation &
Dialogue

Advancing sustainable
agriculture is not a challenge for a single group, but for all those who make up the sector. The
farmer, and Bayer, regularly seek opportunities for cooperation and dialogue.

Nossa Senhora Aparecida Farm

Brazil

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Seeds

Creating value by using
high-quality seeds and technologies that support the farmer to sustainably increase productivity and
profitability.